A Dark Halloween Prank
by SoothsayerYui
Summary: Luigi is boycotting Halloween this year after being the target of so many pranksters. He is determined to let it pass by spending all his time inside, but Mario's had enough of it. He's finally come up with a way to get his younger brother out of the house. Rated T for mild language, just to be safe.
1. A Dark Plan

**This is the second story I've uploaded. It's got a scary theme for Halloween, but the purpose is for humor. Hope you enjoy!**

 **For those of you who don't know the game Amnesia, it's a horror game for the computer. I've never played it personally, but there are plenty of videos on Youtube, and it looks friggin' scary. I recommend looking it up. (But this isn't a crossover story because I'm not writing very deeply about that game.)**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Super Mario or anything related to it. I also do not own any other titles mentioned or referenced in this story.**_

* * *

 _ **October 25th**_

The kingdom was decorated and ready to celebrate Halloween. Pumpkins carved both by children and by master artists abounded front steps, and fake tombstones, monsters, and reapers plagued the yards. Spider webs hung from houses. The more exorbitant houses were even fixed with trips and haunted music set up outside to scare passerby.

And for about two weeks now, Luigi had been making up excuses not to have to go outside for more than twenty minutes a day. Mario had had to do all the grocery shopping, all the little errands the princess had asked of them while she was still getting ready for her Halloween festival, and he had to water the entire garden they'd decided to put in two months ago. And they needed to paint the house, too.

This was getting ridiculous. Just because he'd had the hair scared off his mustache three years in a row, he was boycotting fresh air and sunlight. He had tried many different strategies to get Luigi out of the house.

 _ **10 days ago…**_

"Hey, Luigi!" Mario shouted up the stairs.

"Yeah?" his brother shouted back.

"Are you comin' down anytime soon?"

"Nope, I'm good," his brother replied casually.

"Hmm," Mario muttered. "Well, that's too bad. Because the princess invited us over pizza!"

There was a ten-second pause. "Uh, no I had a pretty big lunch. Tell her next time, okay?"

"But there's gonna be _caaaaake_."

Another long pause. "Th-That's okay. Go ahead without me, Mario!"

Mario sighed.

 **6 days ago…**

"Hey, Luigi!"

"Yeah?"

"Still not comin' down? The sun's out today—it's warmed up a little!"

"Don't worry about me! I got my windows open, so I'm getting fresh air."

"Aren't you bored?"

"Nope! I'm binge-watching Sherlock!"

"What? You're binge-watching…" Mario trailed off and sighed heavily. "You need to get off your butt! Let's go run the go-karts!"

"Nah, I'm fine!"

 _Man, is he being stubborn._

 **3 days ago…**

"Luigi!"

"What now?"

"If you come help me water the garden, I'll make your favorite dinner tonight!"

" _What?_ " he shouted more loudly.

Mario huffed, "I _said_ I'll—Wait, why have I been shouting up the stairs?" He shook his head at himself and marched up the stairs. The door was slightly ajar, and he pushed it open to find Luigi lying at the end of the bed with his eyes glued to the TV. "Aw, come on, Luigi, how can you just sit up here and watch TV all day for two weeks?"

Luigi sighed and paused it. "I have _not_ been watching TV nonstop for two weeks. I've been straightening my room up, and stuff. I swept the floors, cleaned out that closet—did you know we still have game manuals from twenty years ago? I found a Nintendo 64 back there, too."

"Wow, really?" Mario asked, intrigued. But then he shook his head, snapped himself out of all the vintage games flashing through his head. "Listen, bro, you gotta get outta here. I made the Horror King promise he would be nice to you this year."

Luigi snorted and laughed. "Oh, yeah right! That Toad pulls more pranks than Bowser has anger outbursts!"

Mario threw his arms up, almost drained of patience. "So what if he does scare you? I mean—hey, what the heck are you watching? Last I checked, Sherlock wasn't an anime."

"Oh, I finished Sherlock two days ago—there really aren't many episodes, you know. This is Death Note."

He paused, giving Luigi a weird look. "What the hell is Death Note?"

"Well, it's…" Luigi scratched his head. "Y'know, I really don't think there's a simplified version. Wanna watch it?"

"Well…" Before he could answer Luigi had already began to play it again.

 ** _Two hours later…_**

Completely hypnotized by the TV, the sudden, loud change in title sequence startled Mario off the chair he'd set up, and he snapped back to his senses. He shot up off the floor as Luigi was laughing at him, and dusted himself off.

"Gah! No more!" He denied the TV screen and pumped his fist up, looking determined at Luigi, "C'mon, Luigi, you gotta come back outside sometime!"

"I know! And I will. After Halloween!"

"Grr—you—fine!" Mario gave up and stomped out of the room, slamming the door shut as Luigi ignored him, making a face at the screen and forwarding past the title sequence.

 _ **Present day**_

No matter what he did, Luigi would not budge. He understood that that Toad was just flat-out mean, and he probably would be looking to get him, but that was no reason to camp inside for the rest of your life. Or month. Whatever.

He'd had it. If he wasn't going to go outside, he would make it scarier for him to stay inside.

Yesterday, Mario had looked to the computer to give him some ideas. Now he was all ready.

He stood at the bottom of the stairs again. "Hey, Luigi!"

"What?" Luigi answered, sounding exasperated now.

"I have a present for you!"

"Huh? A present?"

"You bet! It's to make up for my hounding the last few days! You gonna come down now, or what?"

A moment later, they were standing in the living room, and Mario had a wrapped package for him. Luigi looked at it warily.

"Okay, what's-a the stipulations, Mario?"

"No stipulations," he answered with a smile. It was a natural, kind smile, but all it did was make Luigi suspicious. "Just take it."

"Weeeeell…" Luigi rubbed his chin with his forefinger. "What is it?"

"Just open it! You're not that much of a chicken, are you?"

Luigi sighed and rolled his eyes at his brother, and finally took the package. He sat down on the couch and undid the wrapping paper. It was a disc inside a clear case. It had no label. "Okay, seriously, what is it? A music CD?"

"Nope. It's a computer game."

A computer game? Hadn't had one of those in a while. "Really? Cool. But why doesn't it have a label?"

"Ah, it's used. Sorry about that. It's the only one I could find."

"Oh, okay. So…what is it?" he asked for the third time.

"I think it'd be best if you saw for yourself. Trust me, I looked it up. It's awesome—it's won awards and stuff!"

"Well, that's interesting. Okay, I'll give it a shot. We'll have to boot up the old computer, though. Haven't used it for a while, have we?"

"Nah, I don't think so. Ah, I'll get that set up," Mario told him. "I'll go find it and get it ready by tonight."

"Cool, bro. I'll order pizza."

 **8:00 p.m.**

"Okay, Luigi, I finally got it set up!" Mario called from their tiny computer room upstairs. It was a mostly bare, wooden room with just a desk, chair, bookshelf, and one tiny window. And it was dusty. It was like an attic.

Luigi peeked in and glanced around with a slight frown. "Man, I never really liked this room. Couldn't you have put it downstairs somewhere?"

"Uh…" Mario scratched his head. "Well, I guess we could've, but it took me so long to get it set up; I'm not doing it again."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks for that." Man, they really needed to get a new computer though. He could still see dust caked on it, and the tower sitting on the floor was huge. "Maybe I can bring some stuff up here to make it more roomy."

"Sure thing. Ah, but I gotta get going; the princess wanted me to make a trip to E. Gadd's lab in the forest up north, so I'm probably not gonna be back until sometime tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? That's weird. What's she want you to do?"

"Something about an experiment he was working on. It's for the Halloween party. I'm gonna help him out a bit, and then he needs help getting it over here, too."

"Alright. See you tomorrow. And thanks again!"

"Sure thing, bro!"

As Mario left, Luigi brought some things into the room to make it more comfortable. He brought in a rug, the comfortable desk chair from the den downstairs, a lamp, and a little radio. Maybe he got a little carried away… but this room would always creep him out a little bit. It helped... a little.

He set himself up with some fizzy pop and a bowl of popcorn. He wondered what kind of game it was. Was it an RPG? A puzzle game? Hopefully it wasn't a first-person-shooter. Mario must have known he didn't play games like that.

His head really came to no obvious conclusions, since the Mario Bros. weren't avid computer gamers. Fortunately Mario had installed the game for him, and left it open, so all he had to do was click on the open window.

The screen was full of dark colors, old stone walls, and read "Amnesia: The Dark Descent."

Luigi stared at the screen for a moment and absently frowned. "Well… this doesn't look like a puzzle game." He tapped his finger on the mouse and debated. Surely Mario wouldn't be doing this as a prank to scare him. That would just be mean.

Feeling just slightly antsy, Luigi readjusted himself and selected "new game." The screen zoomed into the dark corridor and began.

With gritted teeth and restless tapping, he waited for some kind of picture to blow up on the screen and scare the crap out of him.

Instead the screen stayed dark, and a voice began to play.

" **Don't forget… some things mustn't be forgotten. The shadow hunting me… I must hurry."**

Immediately Luigi knew this was going to be bad. "Aw, damn it," Luigi hissed out. "Damn you, Mario! You jerk!"

This was some kind of horror game!

 _ **Ten minutes later…**_

"No! _Gaaaah!_ NO! No! No more! I'm— _I can't take it!_ "

Nerves bustling, he abandoned his game and got out of that room, escaping downstairs to the brightly-lit kitchen. His forehead was sweating and his hands were shaking. He sat defiantly on the kitchen chair, trying to keep his teeth from chattering.

"Damn it, damn it! Mario! Man, I can't believe he would do this to me!" He felt a little bit better after shouting at the ceiling, so he sighed and scowled at the table.

After sitting like that for a few minutes—attention snapping to the smallest noises creaking in the house—Luigi realized something. _Mario must be laughing his butt off now, huh? This is just what he wants me to do! Sit around the house, spooked, and_ —

He heard a loud creaking in the room and squealed, diving off the chair and under the table.

After five minutes of sitting and listening to his own breathing, he let all the air in his lungs sigh out. Embarrassed with himself, he climbed out from under the table and crossed his arms.

 _Alright, that's it. I'll show Mario. It's just a game. I'll brave it._

"If it takes me all week and gives me nightmares, I'll do it! I'll show him!" Luigi declared, marching back upstairs.

About halfway there, he paused, and decided he would comfort himself with milk and cookies first.

* * *

 **If you've seen parts of this game, you must know how hard it would be for Luigi to play it. Freaky stuff!**


	2. The Dark Noises

**Disclaimer: I do not own Super Mario or any other titles mentioned in this text.**

* * *

 _ **October 26th, the next morning…**_

It was partly overcast that morning, but the weather was nice, anyway. The air was cool, shone through with intermittent rays of sunshine. Birds were chirping. It was a nice day.

Mario wondered if he'd been a little harsh on Luigi. But at the same time, how could he be missing out on fresh air like this? _He'll understand_ , Mario thought as he closed the front door behind him and slid his shoes off. They were bros, after all.

"Hey, Luigi! I'm back!" he called toward the hallway. He paused briefly at no reply. "Luigi?"

He rested his fists on his hips and thought. _Huh. Must be sleeping. It's 10:00, and he keeps getting up at noon._ "Hey, lazybones! I'm-a comin' up! You better be awake!" Mario announced, planning on doing the old open-up-the-curtains trick.

He was only met by silence on the second level. Of course, he wouldn't have expected to hear any mouse-clicking, and not the TV considering how long he'd been sleeping. But no snoring, either?

It was kind of creepy.

Mario shook the thought from his head and neared Luigi's room. He opened the door carefully and stepped inside, only to meet an empty room with an untidy, but made bed and no TV on. The window was shut and locked. Just as he took a step inside, he heard a crunch under his foot.

"Ah," he grunted instinctively. He lifted his foot. "Popcorn?" As he glanced around, he realized there was popcorn everywhere. A trail led underneath the bed—or at least that's what it looked like.

"Uh… Luigi?" he said confusedly. A second later he noticed the sound of chattering teeth. A dark air sucked into his lungs, and he cleared his throat, hoping he hadn't terrorized him too much. "Hey, Luigi, are you really hiding under the bed? Aren't you too—"

"G-G-G-G-Get out, M-M-Mario…!" a quivering voice rang out from under the bed.

Mario smiled a sheepish, twitching smile at himself as he approached the right side. "Oh, c'mon. It was just a game."

Mario shouted in terror when Luigi sprung from out of the bed—inhumanly knocking his bed aside without flinching at a probable head injury. He had a petrified, almost crazed look and dark circles under his eyes. In a manic way, he shook Mario by the collar and gave him a frazzled update, "JUST A GAME? Mario, do you have any idea how terrifying that thing is?! Did you even look it up before you bought it and sicked it on me?!"

"U-Uh…" Sweat dribbled down the side of his head. "Well, m-maybe a few minutes…"

"Gah!" He let his brother go and threw his hands in the air out of frustration. "I knew it! That was low, bro! Do you even know how much sleep I got last night?!"

"W…Well…"

"ZERO."

"Um…"

"Just get out, Mario."

"Uh… Okay…" Scratching his head, he walked out into the hall. "Hey, but you're still gonna—"

He had the door slammed in his face. Mario stood there for a good two minutes in silence. "Well… Aw, crap." It was all he could think of.

 _ **1:00 p.m.**_

"Hey, Luigi!"

He was met with silence.

"Your favorite comedy show's on!"

He received no response. Mario clicked his tongue and began to think of another plan.

 _ **3:30 p.m.**_

"Hey, Luigi!"

He heard nothing but the TV flickering in the room behind him.

"Wario and Waluigi are in town! I got an idea for an epic prank! C'mon!"

He waited a beat and heard nothing still.

Well, maybe that silence was a good thing, because if he'd asked, Mario would've had a total blank-out.

"Well, damn… C'mon, Mario, think."

 _ **6:00 p.m.**_

"Luigi!"

No sound.

"I baked you a cake for dinner! You know you can't resist chocolate!"

At first he heard nothing, so he sighed and turned around. Then he heard the stairs creaking, and turned around to find his brother finally appearing, though with a not-quite-so-amused look on his face.

"Bro! You came!"

Luigi gave him a deadpan look, "Where's the cake?"

Mario blinked. "Uh… On the kitchen table." He stood silently as Luigi walked into the kitchen. Followed by some sounds of ceramic clinking, he returned seconds later with a plate of cake. He said absolutely nothing to Mario and returned upstairs.

Mario winced at the door slam.

 _ **6:05 p.m.**_

"LUIGI! THE KITCHEN IS ON FIRE!"

Nothing.

"Damn."

 _ **9:00 p.m.**_

"Luigi!"

For the umpteenth time, he received no response.

"Alright! That's it!" Mario began to march up the stairs with balled fists. "I can't take this anymore! You have to get over it some—Luigi?"

Creaking slightly, the door to his room revealed no brother. After glancing around confusedly, Mario began to notice sounds of mousepad clicking. Intrigued, he wondered if Luigi had found another game to play on the computer.

"You in here?" He asked as he opened the door. He found Luigi at the computer, but the room looked a bit different than before. "Hey… You're, ah, comfortable in here, huh?"

Luigi apparently had had time to set himself up with a cushy desk chair and expensive headphones. And he seemed to have redecorated, too. There was a beanbag chair on the other side of the room, pictures hung up on the walls, a clock—and was that a surround-sound system?

"Don't bother me now, Mario—my lantern ran out of oil and my sanity's depleting," Luigi told him, voice gravely serious while on pins and needles. An eerie gust of wind from the game made him freeze and shiver as if it was real.

Mario felt it, too, since he could hear it through the headphones. "Whoa. Luigi, you're still playing it?!" he asked, utterly shocked. The game was dark, dark, dark, and looked like something might pop out of the wall and grab your throat at any moment. And the screen was warping.

Luigi—his brother, most known for being a chicken—was playing this thing?

His green brother let out a groan and paused the game to address his face. He even bent his index finger at him. "Mario, you sicked this damn game on me—now I'm gonna show you. I'm gonna finish it."

"But… Luigi, I didn't mean to—"

"No, I'm tired of everyone knowing me as the coward." With that, a stern look, he put his headphones back on and challenged the computer screen with a held-in breath.

"I was just trying to get you out of the house."

"Oil! Yes!" He let a puff of air out as the screen momentarily brightened. "Go away, Mario."

"But… Er… F-Fine." With a guilty shoulder slump, Mario began to leave the room, curiosity turning his gaze back to the screen once before.

A moment after he left, he heard Luigi shriek something he wouldn't repeat in front of the princess and ogled the door. "Luigi—?"

"Go AWAAAAY!"

 _ **1:00 a.m.**_

At the sound of multiple voices shrieking, Mario jumped out of his sleep straight as a board. The covers flew off of his bed and he assumed a battle position, though his forehead was sweating and his hands were clammy.

"Wh-What was that?!" he asked himself in an unintentional whisper.

Silence dominated his room, cruelly, for a few moments, before the sudden vibration of another set of hollering startled him, and he lost his balance and fell off of his bed.

He sat up like a board again as he noticed one of the voices was a woman laughing.

"DAISY! Your freaking out is what's-a gonna get me killed!" he heard Luigi complain loudly.

"Daisy?" Mario grumbled under his breath, rubbing the back of his head. "And Luigi's still up?" What, were they having a slumber party with computer games and popcorn? Obviously they had no regard for other people sleeping in the house!

He stomped into the hallway and threw the door open.

They screamed and leaped out of their seats. They made Mario scream and run back into the hallway. After sitting against the wall for a moment to let his heart calm, he sighed.

"What the heck are you doing up at 1:00 in the morning?!" Mario demanded with angry, droopy eyes.

Luigi took his headphones out, "What's the matter, Mario, you can't sleep?"

"Wh—What do you think?! How could I sleep with you guys shouting in here?! Is the game that scary?!"

"YES!" Luigi barked, wild-eyed. "And I'm glad you're getting no sleep! Payback, bro!" With that, he ended the conversation; he put his headphones back on like they were bad-ass shades and turned back to the screen.

Daisy ruffled the bruise on the back of her head and gave the screen a deadpan look. "Luigi, he's behind you," she informed him, which was followed by another screech from Luigi.

"GAH! DAMN IT!"

Mario had already shut the door behind him, and now he found himself crossing his arms in a pout.

He was angry, but every time he thought of Luigi playing that game, he was struck with an intense curiosity—how could his younger brother be playing such a game? Nightmares had kept him up the night before. He had known Luigi to steer away from scary things all his life.

Well, he did make it through the mansion… twice… but other than that.

He sighed heavily as he heard Daisy snickering at Luigi, and slumped back across the hall.

This was gonna be a long night.

Then… about ten minutes after he lied back down…

He suddenly heard a dark voice from under his bed.

 _ **Mariooooo… I know what you did…**_

* * *

 **Uh-oh... Did Mario curse himself somehow? Find out next chapter!**


End file.
